Foursquare intensifies recommendation with ratings

Foursquare really is growing up. The location-based social platform has launched a new rating system to help users gauge how much people love a specific place. Interestingly this new addition to the platform is what its arch competitor in the recommendation space, Yelp, is modelled on.

In a blog post announcing the update, the company said that its scoring system is “a lot different from the other types of ratings you see today.” It says that it has taken more than just giving a star rating into consideration.

“Instead of other sites where every place gets 3.5 stars, we come up with our scores using the same Foursquare magic that powers Explore. We look at signals like tips, likes, dislikes, popularity, loyalty, local expertise, and nearly three billion check-ins from over 25-million people worldwide. And, with every check-in and Explore search, our scores will get smarter and better.”

Currently this update is only available for iOS users who can navigate through to the “Explore” tab on Foursquare, there they are able to add a score from 1 to 10 next to the name of a restaurant, bar, spa and listed businesses or recreation areas. Users can also see the ratings on Foursquare’s site.

It’s pretty clear that Foursquare wants to be more than just a check-in app: its recent updates are edging it more and more towards a social recommendation tool for people on-the-go. Earlier this year it launched its customised recommendation tool that allowed users to search for places to go without signing up.

Then came the major redesign that helped users manage their check-ins and gave them more reason to spend more time on the app rather than just check-in and leave.

In an interview with Memeburn, Foursquare said the company would always find ways to expand the experience and that the goal is to build “a huge audience and building an amazing product and then all the other stuff will work itself out”.

The company seems well on its way to doing that by taking on competitors in the location-based and recommendation platform.